Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the case of the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, is contesting elections to the Jalna Municipal Corporation from ward number 13.
Pangarkar told THE WEEK that the Gauri Lankesh case is sub judice and he will not be able to speak about it, other than the fact that he was granted bail on merit. "I will be acquitted one hundred per cent as I had nothing to do with it," said Pangarkar.
He is contesting as an independent and is fighting against a BJP candidate, among other parties. "I have the people's support. I am not part of any party—not even the Shinde Sena. They are not supporting me either," he said.
When asked whether he would join the Shinde Sena after the election if he wins, Shrikant Pangarkar replied that the decision will be taken when the time comes and he cannot say anything about it right now. "But mostly no, I will prefer to be independent," said Pangarkar, who was a councillor for the undivided Shiv Sena from 2001–06.
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Other than the Gauri Lankesh murder case, Pangarkar is also accused in a case involving an arms and explosives seizure in Nala Sopara on the outskirts of Mumbai. He was also arrested in August 2018 by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with the seizure of crude bombs and weapons from different parts of the state. Pangarkar was booked under the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at the time, news agency PTI said in a report.
When he was denied a ticket by Shiv Sena, Pangarkar joined the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.
![[File] Gauri Lankesh, a journalist-turned-activist was shot dead at her residence in Bengaluru in 2017 | Reuters](https://img.theweek.in/content/dam/week/news/india/images/2022/10/23/gauri-lankesh-protest-reuters.jpg.image.340.191.jpg "[File] Gauri Lankesh, a journalist-turned-activist was shot dead at her residence in Bengaluru in 2017 | Reuters")
He was about to join the Shinde Sena before the assembly elections last year, but Eknath Shinde kept his entry into the party on hold to avoid controversy ahead of the polls. Even in this election, the Shinde Sena has not fielded a candidate against him, though the BJP has.
Gauri Lankesh murder case
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 5 September 2017, a murder that made national headlines. An unidentified assailant shot dead the 55-year-old senior journalist outside her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru. She had just returned from her office in Gandhi Bazaar and was opening the front gate when an assailant pumped at least three bullets into her head and chest.
Shrikant Pangarkar was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on 4 September 2024 in the Gauri Lankesh murder case.
